Workforce Diversity
The Congressional Budget Office values the diversity of its workforce and continues to strive to increase that diversity. We know that attracting and retaining a diverse workforce is critical to ensuring a high-performing staff who bring different perspectives and experiences to the agency’s work.
CBO regularly reviews the diversity of its workforce and takes steps to bring about balanced representation of women, underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, veterans, and people with disabilities. As part of that effort, CBO welcomes current and former members of the uniformed services and provides reasonable accommodation to applicants and employees with disabilities. The agency employs and promotes qualified personnel without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender and gender identity, disability, or age. The agency's leadership and its staff embrace and support diversity objectives, both within the agency and within the fields of economics and public policy.
Find out more about the work we do and the way we do it.
Grassroots Recruitment
CBO’s efforts to recruit and increase diversity in the agency and in the career fields that CBO employees represent start well before applicants obtain the credentials listed in job postings. The agency engages in a considerable level of grassroots recruiting. Each year agency staff meet with undergraduate students from underrepresented groups who are interested in economics and public policy, encouraging them to pursue advanced degrees in economics, public policy, and related fields. These efforts encompass a range of outreach activities, including the following:
- We participate in the Public Policy and International Affairs Program, a national program focused on preparing undergraduate students from underrepresented groups for advanced degrees leading to careers in public service.
- We actively recruit at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and large flagship campuses with significant populations of minority students.
- We encourage qualified students who participate in the Workforce Recruitment Program managed by the U.S. departments of Labor and Defense to apply for positions at CBO. Participants in the program are highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities.
- We support the efforts of the American Economic Association (AEA) to diversify the economic profession.
- We educate students considering careers in economics by presenting seminars on the impacts of economics in everyday life to participants in the AEA Summer Training Program and Scholarship Program. The program aims to increase diversity by preparing undergraduates for doctoral programs in economics and related disciplines.
- We promote economics careers for women by staying in touch with groups such as the AEA's Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession and by submitting profiles of female economists to AEA newsletters.
If you are interested in a career with CBO, please apply for a position, sign up for one of our job alerts, or contact us for more information.
Appointment to covered positions is governed by the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA), as made applicable by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, as amended.
If you are a person with a disability who would like to request an accommodation or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact careers@cbo.gov.